U.S. energy-related carbon dioxide emissions will rise by 2.5 percent from 2017, in part as more intense weather this year increased the use of climatization equipment, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said. “After declining by 0.8 percent in 2017, EIA forecasts that U.S. energy-related carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions will rise by 2.5 percent in 2018,” the agency said in a report issued Tuesday. “This increase largely reflects higher natural gas consumption in 2018 because of a colder winter and a warmer summer,” it added. In February, the EIA issued a forecast that carbon dioxide emissions would rise only 1.8 percent in 2018, compared with 5,143 metric tons in 2017. “Warmer-than-normal temperatures persisted into early October, helping to maintain high power demand for natural gas in some parts of the country, while an early round of colder temperatures in other parts of the country resulted in […]